The Locket
by mugglekool
Summary: The story of a wizard who lost his way but found it again another day.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

Getting to the cave had certainly been a task. A muggle would never have been able to manage it. Of course, it would have been nice if he had been able to Apparate _inside_ the cave, but of course, the Dark Lord – _no_! He musntn't call him that, even in his head. _Voldemort._ Yes. That was his name. Regulus suppressed a shudder that soon turned into a shiver. His teeth were chattering and he hastily dried himself off with his wand. Looking around, he saw Kreacher, their old house-elf, lying down on the stone floor. The poor thing must have been exhausted. Regulus dried the house-elf off as well, and picked him up. A whispered _Lumos_ cast a feeble light ahead of him. This was a different kind of darkness. A _darker _darkness. Regulus suppressed another shudder, and squared his shoulders. He had come here to do a job. A job that he was determined to do, even if he had to die for it. He probably _would_ die for it. A wry smile twisted the handsome features that were now weary, and Regulus crept forward in the darkness, his footsteps ringing on the stone floor.

He reached the wall that would demand blood. He really hadn't been looking forward to this part. He gently lay Kreacher down on the floor and shook back his sleeve. Regulus murmured a spell and traced his wand over his wrist. A fine line of scarlet appeared, blood beading along it, and for a moment, he toyed with the idea of letting the cut grow deeper and putting an end to it all.

"Master?" a scared voice whispered from beside him in the darkness.

"I'm fine," Regulus answered, a little abruptly. He let a bit of the red liquid gather at the end of his wand, and traced the letters R-A-B onto the blank wall in front of him. It didn't much matter how the blood was smeared, but it was in Regulus' nature to make things as dramatic as possible. Even though he and Kreacher were the only ones who would ever see it.

The blazing silver outline of an arch appeared in the wall like a doorway, leading to more darkness. Regulus lit his wand once more, not bothering to heal his sliced wrist, and motioned for Kreacher to follow him. They were standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that the distant bank was nowhere to be seen. A misty greenish light shone in what must have been the middle of the lake. _Just like Snape said it would be,_ Regulus couldn't help thinking. How _did _Snape get all his information? And how had he managed to hide his disloyalty to…_Voldemort_ for so long? Regulus knew that once he had carried out this task, he would most likely be tortured and killed. He was more than willing to face the consequences, but a small part of him couldn't help but twinge in jealousy at Snape's precarious, but seemingly safe (for now) position. Of course, he had Dumbledore on his side. And while Regulus' actions put him, too, on the side of the muggleborns, he didn't fancy begging Dumbledore (or _anyone_, for that matter) for forgiveness and acceptance. He had chosen his battles, knowing full well what might happen. He didn't have to snivel and cower behind those mightier than him. _That's not fair,_ a little voice in his head told him. He knew it was right. He only wished he'd listened to it before.


	2. Beginnings

**Breakdown29: **Thank you so very much. This is my first fanfic _ever._ It's nice to know that somebody I don't know personally likes it.

**Dee: **Thank you too. xD

* * *

**Chapter 1: Beginnings**

* * *

_[1 September 1972]_

He heard a whisper of that voice for the first time when he saw the Sorting Hat sitting on the three legged stool in the Great Hall, singing its song. There were so many thoughts running through his head. His whole family had been in Slytherin. But Sirius was in Gryffindor. Regulus _adored _his elder brother. He was the rebel of the family. Regulus' face split into a wide grin when we caught Sirius' eye. Sirius grinned back. They had still been friends, then.

It wasn't long until Professor McGonagall called out, "Black, Regulus!" in her sharp voice. The eleven year old boy stumbled forward with some trepidation, but managed to make it to the stool without actually falling flat on his face. He picked up the hat and sat on the stool, his vision blocked by the vastness of the hat.

"Let's see," a voice said. It took Regulus a moment to realize that it was the hat that was talking. "A Black. How interesting. I remember the last Black I sorted, a year ago. Broke family tradition, that one did. Reckon you'll do the same?" Regulus wasn't sure how to _answer_ the hat, so he just let his thoughts run wild. He felt the hat recoil slightly. "My my," the voice murmured. "You're quite a complicated one, aren't you? You'd do well in Ravenclaw, I suppose, or even in Gryffindor. Hufflepuff really isn't your style though. What about Slytherin, you ask? I rather got the impression you didn't want to be there." He felt the hat smirk. "But the rest of your family has been there and you feel obligated, don't you?" Regulus wasn't entirely sure about what he wanted. He _did _want to be with Sirius, but he didn't want to disappoint Mum either. His feelings towards his mother must have been stronger, because he heard the hat scream, "Slytherin!" and a tumult of applause could be heard from the table at the far end of the hall.

Regulus chanced a glance at the Gryffindor table. Sirius looked crestfallen, and his friend (the one with the messy hair and the glasses) was patting him on the back sympathetically. Regulus felt guilty for a moment, but he soon reached the Slytherin table and was showered with congratulations and handshakes and hugs, his misgivings soon forgotten.

* * *

Professor Dumbledore clearly had nothing critical to say, and his most important announcement seemed to be that the food that would soon appear in front of them had been experimented on by the house-elves. Some students looked at their plates suspiciously, and Regulus was uncertain for a moment. But then the plates were filled and he took his first bite of Hogwarts' food. The food was delicious. It was far tastier than anything he'd ever had at home. Regulus wished he could concentrate on just the food and nothing else. He particularly didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he and his brother were in 'enemy' houses. The boy sitting next to him, however, struck up a conversation. "So. Black's little brother, are you?" a sneering voice asked. His mouth full of baked potatoes, Regulus just nodded. "I hope you aren't half as obnoxious as he is." Regulus turned his head to look at the speaker. He was pale, pasty even. His eyes were black and hard and his hair hung in a greasy curtain around his face. Regulus knew that this was one person he would never be friends with. How very wrong he was. "My brother isn't obnoxious," he managed to say after hastily swallowing his potatoes. The eyes of the boy sitting next to him widened slightly. "Well isn't that sweet. Little baby Black is standing up for his big brother." Regulus ignored him and turned back to his plate.

He would _not_ let this get to him. That boy could say all he wanted, but Regulus would not give him the satisfaction of a response. He was beginning to wonder whether it might have been a better idea to have specifically asked the hat to put him in Gryffindor, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see an older version of his own face smiling down at him. He couldn't help jumping up and wrapping his arms around the familiar form of his older brother. Sirius patted him on the back, slightly embarrassed, and the greasy haired boy Regulus had been sitting next to snickered.

"Sod off Snivellus," Sirius Black said shortly and then pulled away from Regulus. "What do you say to a walk on the grounds?" Regulus' eyes widened in surprise. "But…but the meal isn't over yet. What if we get into trouble?" Sirius laughed. "More fun, that, don't you reckon? Come on." He started towards the Entrance Hall, and Regulus had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Severus Snape glared at the retreating forms of the Black brothers. He felt, perhaps, a twinge of jealousy. He was an only child, raised in a more than troubled household, and he had exactly one friend. She was currently seated on the other end of the hall, talking animatedly with her friends. There were so many things that excited Lily Evans. Severus Snape was pretty sure that he was one of them. He realized that he had been smiling a rather silly smile and turned to his plate with a sigh. The food _was_ delicious. Whatever those house-elves had done, they had done it well. Snape wasn't particularly hungry though. He was rather bitter at the moment. If he was being honest with himself (and he seldom was) he had been bitter ever since Lily Evans had been placed in Gryffindor.

It didn't help, of course, that _James Bloody Potter_was in Gryffindor as well. Snape wasn't entirely sure what it was about Potter that he loathed. Of course, Potter fancied Lily, and that certainly played a role, but even since they'd laid eyes on each other, Severus Snape and James Potter had been enemies. There was no rational explanation for their enmity. There seldom was, for these kinds of things.

Snape slipped out of his seat, and made his way towards the entrance hall, fully intending to slink off to the Slytherin common room. Halfway down the stairs to the dungeons, he realized that he didn't have the password. He could not bring himself to go back to the Great Hall though. There was nobody around, so he sat down on the last stair and leaned his head against the cold stone wall, closing his eyes. He blanked out his mind as best as possible, but the image of a certain girl with fiery red hair and beautiful green eyes kept creeping back in.

"Severus?" a soft, feminine voice whispered. Snape snapped his eyes open in surprise. It wasn't Lily; that he was sure of. A second year Slytherin girl was seated on the step next to him, looking at him with what seemed to be concern. "Are you alright?"

"Er…yes. Just a little tired after the journey, I suppose."

"Did you have a good summer, Severus?"

He did. He'd spent it with Lily. "Yes. It was fantastic. What about you…?" he trailed off. He couldn't remember this girl's name. He'd seen her around the common room, of course, and she was in most of his classes, but he couldn't for the life of him remember her name. She smiled suddenly. "You don't remember my name, do you?" she asked with an amused smile.

"I'm sorry, no," Snape replied, without much feeling.

"Alice Larkin," she said briskly, and held out her hand.

Snape looked at her, slightly bewildered, and took her hand. "Severus Snape," he said automatically.

The girl smirked. "I know that, silly."

"Right."

Snape shifted uncomfortably. He didn't much like company. Especially company that wasn't Lily. The girl was still looking at him. _Why_ was she looking at him like that? Snape studied her for a moment. She was small, smaller than most girls in his year. Her bright blue eyes were fixed on his black ones, and for a moment – just a moment – Snape felt something. A spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, he could have another friend. Then he got up and walked away. Severus Snape didn't _have_ friends. Severus Snape was the one who was always picked on. Even in his own house, nobody was _friends_ with Severus Snape.

"Where are you going?"

"To the common room."

"Do you have the password?"

Snape stopped. For a moment, he'd forgotten that the whole reason he was sitting on the stone steps and not lying down on his bed was because he hadn't had the presence of mind to find a prefect before he left the Great Hall.

"I thought not. I don't either. I just saw you walk out and I wondered…well, I wondered if you were alright."

"What do you want?" Snape asked her rather harshly, his back still turned to her.

"Want?" he could hear the frown in her voice, and could tell that she was slightly affronted. "I don't want anything. Except maybe…to be friends?"

Snape didn't answer.

"Well, since neither of us can get into the common room, why don't you come here and sit down with me? I don't particularly want to go back to the Great Hall. Too many people."

Despite himself, Snape cracked a small smile. That was exactly how he felt most of the time. He turned around and made his way back to the staircase. It couldn't do any harm, really, talking to this little girl for a while.

* * *

The two brothers were seated next to each other by the side of the black waters of the lake. They were quiet now. Sirius had his arms wrapped around his legs and was staring blankly at nothing in particular. Regulus was staring at the profile of his brother's face; it was so very like his own. "What happens now?" he asked in a whisper. Sirius turned to look at him. He shrugged. "Nothing," he replied. "We go on with our lives."

"You're not –," Regulus swallowed the lump in his throat. "You're not angry with me then?"

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. "No Reg, I'm not angry. How could I be? You're my brother." The last three words were said in an undertone and if Regulus hadn't been listening carefully, he wouldn't have heard them.

"Just promise me one thing." Sirius' voice was hard now. "Promise me you won't become like…_them_."

"I promise."

That was one of the first lies Regulus Black ever told, even though he didn't know it at the time.


	3. Behind Blue Eyes

**Pro:** Yes, I know you don't simply compliment. Thank you thank you thank you.

**kittyhawk09:** I really, really hope I don't disappoint you with this.

[There's an awful lot of jumping around in time happening here. If it's too confusing, tell me and I'll clarify with the year that the stuff happened or something.]

* * *

Before: Regulus gets sorted into Slytherin, Snape kind-of-almost makes a friend, Regulus promises Sirius that he isn't going to become like _them_.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Behind Blue Eyes**

* * *

_[1 September 1972]_

Alice Larkin say on her bed, thinking. The feast had ended long ago, and the prefects had arrived, the rest of Slytherin house in tow. The password was given, and there was a whole lot of socializing to be done. Alice managed to slip away from the crowd and make her way up to the dormitory. She shared the room with four other girls; none of whom she was really friends with. Of course, they had classes together and they let her sit with them in the Great Hall sometimes, but she never really _fit._ A flash of anger crossed the bright blue eyes that were staring at the green and silver hangings. She shouldn't have been here. Not in Hogwarts. Or at least, not in Slytherin. She didn't _belong_. But Professor Dumbledore had said that everything was going to be okay, and a year ago, she had believed him.

* * *

_[1 September 1971]_

Sirius Black had looked into what seemed like every bloody compartment on the train, and he still hadn't found one that seemed suitable enough for him and James Potter, who was running late today. He was sweaty and tired, and very irritable. He slid open the door of another compartment and took a deep breath, ready to do whatever it took to secure this compartment. The words died in his throat when he saw a pretty little girl of about eleven, her head buried in a book.

"Do you mind if I sit down here?" he asked, much too nicely (he thought). The girl didn't look up from the book she was reading, but nodded. Sirius dragged his trunk inside the compartment and stowed it away in the overhead compartment. He heaved a sigh of relief. Looking out of the window, he saw his best friend and called out to him. "James! Hey! JAMES!"

James Potter, who was talking to his mother, turned around and caught his friend's eye with a grin. A hug and a couple of kisses later ("Not here Mum!"), James Potter was seated across from Sirius Black. The two boys waved at Mrs. Potter, who waved back, as the train whistled and started to chug forward slowly.

Sirius Black had forgotten all about the little girl in the compartment, who was now frowning at the two over enthusiastic boys. She closed the book she was reading with a snap, and the boys jumped slightly at the sound. "Oh! Er, sorry. We didn't know you were here. We'll go find another compartment. Come on Sirius." James got up and started to tug at his luggage when he noticed that his friend hadn't moved an inch. He was staring at the girl in the corner who was staring coolly back at him. The girl broke eye-contact first and turned to James. "That's alright. You can stay. Your friend," she jerked her chin towards Sirius, "asked me. Though he seems to have forgotten already." A wry smile twisted her lips. James frowned at Sirius. "Sorry?" Sirius offered, shrugging.

The girl nodded and fidgeted slightly with the black skirt she was wearing. Nobody said anything for a few awkward moments, and James was considering asking the girl her name, when the door to the compartment slid open. A red-haired girl and a black-haired boy began to step into the compartment when they realized that it was already occupied. "Oh dear. I'm so sorry. Come on Sev, let's go find another compartment." The boy followed her dutifully, but managed to give James and Sirius a look of pure loathing.

Pretending nothing had happened, James turned to the girl and said, "I'm James Potter, and this is Sirius Black." He waved in the general direction of his friend, who grinned. "What's your name?" The girl looked at him with bright blue eyes, the hint of a smile playing on her lips. "I'm Alice Larkin."

* * *

_[1 September 1972]_

"Alice?" She sat up in bed suddenly. Unless she'd imagined it, somebody had called her name from outside the door. She probably had imagined it, though, because the voice sounded very similar to one she had heard not long ago on the dungeon stairs. And it sounded angry. But a second later, there was a knock, and the handle turned. She could see Severus Snape's face in the pale moonlight that streamed through the window.

* * *

Severus Snape had not gone to bed immediately like Alice had. Instead, he sat in an armchair by the fireplace, ignoring the sounds of merriment that were coming from all around him. After he'd parted ways with Alice Larkin, he'd realized that he'd seen her somewhere before. Before Hogwarts. Did she live near Spinner's End? A moment or two passed in silent contemplation. He clapped a hand to his forehead suddenly. _The train. She was on the Hogwarts Express last year in a compartment with Potter and Black._ Angry now, he made his way up to the girls' dormitory. The stairs were charmed to stop boys from entering, but Snape gave a contemptuous flick of his wrist and stormed up the staircase. "Alice?" he called out, just before knocking.

* * *

"I know who you are," Snape's harsh voice said in the darkness. Alice raised an eyebrow, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Pray tell," she replied in a voice that was almost bored.

"You're one of _them_," Snape hissed.

"One of _whom_?" Alice asked, thoroughly bewildered.

"On the train. You were in the compartment with Potter and Black. On your first day. A year ago. I saw your face. I remember your eyes."

Despite herself, Alice smirked. "You remember my eyes, Severus? How romantic." She had swung her legs over the side of her bed, and was looking up at Severus, who had, by now, reached her part of the dormitory. He was looking down at her with a mingled expression of fury and disgust.

"You're one of _them_," he repeated.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not!"

Severus didn't reply.

"Why do you hate them so much anyway?" Alice enquired. "What have they ever done to you?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe I would if you tried to explain instead of drawing back into your shell and refusing to talk to anybody but that Evans girl!"

Even Alice was surprised by the venom in her voice. But she had every right to be upset. She'd watched them last year, the Slytherins. Severus Snape seemed like he was the only half-decent one, and so she'd struck up a conversation with him. She'd spent a whole year friendless, and she'd made an effort. But Snape was just as bad as Potter and Black! The whole bunch of them were so quick to judge people. She could feel the prickling behind her eyes. _How embarrassing_. "Go away," she said thickly and wrenched the hangings of her four-poster bed shut. After a moment, she heard his footsteps leave the dormitory and began to cry in earnest. She had wanted to be one of _them_, but she wasn't. For as long as it had taken the Hogwarts Express to reach Hogsmeade it had seemed that she would be one of them, but everything had changed when the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, exactly one year ago.

* * *

_[2 September 1972]_

On September 2nd, 1972, Regulus Black came down to breakfast at seven in the morning. There weren't too many people in the Great Hall yet, and he made his way over to the Gryffindor table instead of the Slytherin one. His brother's friend (the one with the messy hair and glasses) was seated by himself. Regulus walked up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder.

The boy turned around, surprised. He looked Regulus up and down and his face cracked into a wide grin. "Blimely, you really _do_ look just like him!" Then his face dropped. "It's a pity you're in Slytherin like the rest of your family," he said, almost in an undertone. "But we mustn't let a little thing like that get between us." The boy stuck his hand out. "I'm James Potter. Best friend of your brother and his very own partner in crime."

Regulus was a bit overwhelmed by this James Potter character, but he took his hand and replied, "Regulus Black. Brother of your best friend and…" he trailed off, having nothing particularly witty to say. James laughed and patted the seat next to him. "Come on. Sit down here for a bit. Sirius has told me a bit about his family, but he said you were alright. Tell me, does your mother really cut off the old house-elves heads and mount them on the wall?" Regulus choked on the sip of pumpkin juice he'd just taken and spent the next minute or so (which involved an awful lot of back thumping) trying to get his breath back. "Yes," he replied finally. "Yes, she does. And the whole family approves. They hurt people – and elves – just because they can. It's disgusting." He was speaking vehemently now, and James was looking at him with renewed interest.

Caught up in their conversation, neither boy noticed the girl staring at them from across the Hall. At the Slytherin table, Alice's thoughts were a whirlwind. She remembered that boy, Black's brother, being sorted into Slytherin last night. And yet, there he was, at the _Gryffindor_ table, talking to a boy who had wanted to be her friend – who _had_ been her friend – till she became a Slytherin. She had been given cold looks and malicious stares all of last year. But then this boy shows up and suddenly, it doesn't matter. It just wasn't _fair._ She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. Why must she end up crying so often?

"Miss Larkin?"

She composed herself quickly and turned to smile at the newcomer. It was the Head of her house, Professor Slughorn. "Good morning Professor. How have you been?" she replied sweetly, and gave him her most innocent smile. Slughorn couldn't help but smile back at her. "I've been perfectly fine Alice. More than fine, actually. One of my ex-students – he's a curse-breaker now – arranged a trip for me all the way to Egypt. The pyramids were just gorgeous. Have you seen the pyramids?" Alice shook her head. "Well you _must_ pay them a visit sometime dear, they really are quite –" he broke off suddenly. "I was going on again, wasn't I?" He shook his head and, drawing his wand, conjured up a time-table. "Here you go, Miss Larkin. Same classes as last year. If there's anything you need, you know exactly where to find me." He gave her a tiny bow, topped off with a wink, and he was gone. Alice laughed to herself. Slughorn was one teacher she really liked. Actually, she liked most of the teachers. The students, on the other hand…she just couldn't get along with them.

Her eyes flicked back to across the Hall, but the older Black had taken the place of his younger brother. "Could you please pass the butter?" said a voice from her left. Mechanically, she picked up the tub and handed it over, not really interested in who it was she was passing it to. She did glance up casually, though, and found herself staring into a pair of blue-grey eyes, mere inches from her own. "You're Regulus Black." It wasn't a question. It was more of an accusation. The boy raised an eyebrow.

"And who might you be?"

"Nobody."

"Nope."

"What?"

"I've met Nobody. You're _nothing_ like him. So. What's your name?"

She giggled a little at that, but still hesitated before answering. Regulus rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. "C'mon. We're in the same House. We're definitely going to be seeing more of each other. I can't call you the-girl-with-the-pretty-eyes forever." Regulus was surprised at how easy it was to talk to this girl. He wasn't really shy, but was usually pretty awkward around the opposite sex.

Alice was surprised at the fact that her eyes had been brought up by two different boys in less than twenty-four hours. Maybe they really were as pretty as her mother had always said. "I'm Alice Larkin," she replied finally.

Regulus grinned at her. "A pleasure to meet you Alice. Would you mind letting go of the butter now?"

"What? Oh. Sorry." Alice blushed as she drew her hand away and felt something, possibly excitement, bubbling up inside of her.

* * *

_[28 October 1978]_

"Who have you told? Answer me! _Crucio_!"

Pain. He was on fire. He was being stretched and compressed at the same time. "Nobody," he managed to gasp. "I didn't tell anybody, my lord." He closed his eyes and groaned. _Let it end._

Suddenly, the pain stopped. Panting, he sat up and brushed his hair away from his eyes.

"Liar."

The pain was back. An unearthly scream left his mouth. Despite the pain, he was relieved. The Dark Lord could have poured three drops of Veritaserum down his throat and he wouldn't be able to lie at all. It always had to be showy with the Dark Lord. And perhaps his anger wasn't letting him think as clearly as he should have been.

At any rate, the younger wizard was determined to protect the boy he had told. He would do whatever it took. He was a good enough Occlumens; probably the _only_ one good enough to be capable of lying to the Dark Lord.

The pain stopped again. They had been at it for an hour, and the wizard who was being tortured was utterly exhausted.

"Leave."

He spent no time getting out of that dank basement. Once outside, he leaned against the wall of the house, massaging his head. He had a few minutes reprieve before –

"_Obliviate_."


	4. Getting Better

**Pro: **So do I. xP

**kittyhawk09: **Thank you. You have no idea how happy this makes me.

**TheSecondGranger:** Yay. xP (I've added dates and everything. Go look at it again. Maybe it'll make more sense to everybody now.)

[Snape and James and Sirius and all are in their second year when Regulus joins. I've changed everything that indicated they were in their third. A thousand apologies. This is what I get for not doing my research properly. Don't kill me. Please. I love you all. And you might want to go back and read the ending of the previous chapter. I changed a sentence or two. Again. Sorry. ]

* * *

Before: In their first year, Alice sits with James and Sirius on the train, Snape remembers a year later and gets mad. (What an idiot). Then during breakfast she sees James talking to Regulus and _she_ gets mad. But then Regulus sits next to her and asks her to pass the butter and they're kind of cute. And then our dear Dark Lord is torturing…_somebody_. Kudos to those who figured it out. (Wasn't really that hard though.)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Getting Better**

* * *

_[28 October 1978]_

With a 'pop', Severus Snape apparated into Hogsmeade. He looked over himself to make sure that he was all there. It probably wasn't a good idea, apparating so soon after going through what he'd gone through, but he had to get out of there as fast as possible. He had been tortured for…_why had he been tortured_? He couldn't remember. A Memory Charm, no doubt. No point trying to break through it. He slipped into the Three Broomsticks, and was surprised to find himself surrounded by students from the castle. He was a year older than the oldest there, and it was highly unlikely that that anybody would remember him, but he didn't want to take any chances. He didn't want to run into anybody he knew. Especially considering the state he was in. He ordered a firewhiskey and slinked off to the table in the corner.

His head hurt.

He took a sip of his drink.

It helped.

He took another sip.

It helped a lot more.

Somebody slid into the booth across from him.

He groaned.

His head was on fire again.

"Go away," he growled, staring into his glass, not even bothering to look at who it was.

"Merlin, what's he done to you?" was the whispered reply.

Snape did look up at that.

At first he thought the man sitting across from him was Sirius Black. But this face was younger.

"A Hogsmeade weekend, is it?" Snape asked as coldly as he could, considering the splitting headache he had.

Regulus sighed. "Yes. It is. Now _what did he do to you_?"

At first, Snape considered lying. But why bother? "He tortured me."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "Do you…" Regulus began uncertainly. "Do you remember anything?"

"No," Snape replied. In one fluid motion he finished his drink and headed for the door.

Regulus Black wanted to go after him, but he knew it was probably a bad idea. Whatever had happened, he knew he could count on Severus. He'd taken him under his wing, so to speak, when Regulus has made his decision. The decision that estranged him from his brother forever. Briefly, he considered going to Sirius for help (the thought of his brother being his _brother _again put a brief smile on his face), but he knew it would never work out.

* * *

_[4 September 1972]_

The post of Defence Against the Dark Arts is not, as some of you may believe, cursed. Or it _wasn't_, at any rate. Professor Etain Battersea was seated at her desk, foot tapping in time to some beat in her head, as she pondered the strangeness of the rumours that had spread around the post that she currently held. This was her second year here. Her train of thought was broken by a knock on the classroom door. She checked her watch. Ten minutes to go. Slightly surprised, she called, "Come in."

The door opened a few inches and the slightly flushed face of an eleven-year-old Regulus Black peered around it. "I – I know I'm early Professor," he said, slightly breathless, "but do you mind?" Amused, Professor Battersea waved him in. "Of course not, dear boy. You're a Slytherin, yes?" Regulus nodded. He took a seat at the front of the class, eyes wide with anticipation.

Professor Battersea leaned forward slightly. "What's your name?"

"Black. Regulus Black."

A raised eyebrow at that. "Not –?"

"Yes," Regulus sighed. "Brother of Sirius Black."

"Are you disappointed?"

"Disappointed?"

"At being sorted into Slytherin. You don't seem like, well –"

"The rest of my family, yes." Regulus smirked. Once again, Regulus was surprised at how easy it was to _talk_ to people. He felt like he fit, here at Hogwarts. Even though he'd grown up in a wizarding family, his life-before-Hogwarts had been anything but pleasant. He found himself torn between loyalty towards his lineage and loyalty towards his brother. Here, he could be whoever he wanted to be, and nobody seemed to mind.

"So tell me, Mr. Black," Regulus realized that his teacher was smirking right back at him. "Do you intend to be half as brilliant and troublesome as your brother?"

Regulus sat up straight. "Oh no, Professor, I intend to be much, much more."

"Brilliant or troublesome?"

"Both."

Their laughter was cut short by another knock on the door. Professor Battersea looked at her watch again. Seven minutes. Weird. "Come in," she called.

This time it was a girl who peered around the door. Dirty blonde hair that was cut short framed a pale face. Regulus remembered seeing her on the train and in the common room, but couldn't remember her name. After a hesitant glance at Professor Battersea, who nodded, the girl walked over to where Regulus was sitting and took the seat beside him. "I'm Dorcas Meadowes," she said hesitantly, looking between the teacher and the student, as if unsure who she should address first. Professor Battersea smiled. "I'm Professor Battersea, your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. And this handsome young man is Regulus Black." Regulus blushed a little at that, as Dorcas turned her eyes on him and grinned.

"Hello."

"Hi."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes, neither knowing what to say to the other. Professor Battersea stood up and stretched and walked to the back of the classroom. Then Regulus spoke up. "Do you – do you read much?"

Dorcas shook her head. "Not really. Some poetry. Shelley, mostly – Oh! It's Muggle stuff," she added at the confused look on Regulus' face. "My parents have a weakness for Muggle poetry, you know. I was surprised when I found out, but it's actually quite nice." she shrugged. "What about you?"

Regulus shook his head and mumbled something under his breath about 'just trying to make conversation'.

Dorcas laughed at that. "I've read the school books though," she added, almost as an afterthought. "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection, and all that."

Regulus perked up at this. "So have I! I didn't really have much to do over the summer, and I'd rather read than spend time with my family. What with my brother being out all the time –" he broke off when he realized that he had been complaining. Again. He'd complained enough to Alice last night. He was always complaining about his family. He had to stop. There were people who had it much worse than him, and complaining wasn't going to get him anywhere. He was here, in Hogwarts, a place where he actually _belonged_. He was _happy_.

Dorcas was opening her mouth – to ask him what he meant, no doubt – but there was a flurry at the door as the rest of the class entered, and Professor Battersea, who had been pacing along the back of the classroom for some time now hushed them all so that they could begin their lesson.

* * *

_[28 October 1978]_

"What are _you _smiling at?"

A familiar voice broke into Regulus' thoughts. He looked up. "Meadowes," he said shortly, and made to get up, but she pushed him back down, sitting down beside him.

"I've been meaning to get you alone for some time." He raised an eyebrow. "Oh don't look like that. You know that's not what I meant."

Regulus looked at her coldly and said nothing. He tried to get up again, but she just pushed him back down.

"_Don't_ act like you don't know what I'm talking about. And don't you _dare_ put the blame on me. Just because you feel guilty about – " she took a deep breath and continued in a lower voice. "I know it hurts. Just listen to me! I know it hurts, but that doesn't mean you have to become…" she searched for the right word. "_Bad_."

Regulus stared at her incredulously and ran a hand through his hair. _Become _bad? Merlin, he'd been 'bad' for years. He was trying to, well, not exactly _redeem_ himself, but he was going to try and fix things. And while it wouldn't fix anything he'd done, it might just make life easier for other people.

"I've always been bad, Dorcas," he said almost gently, placing his hand on hers. For a moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of affection for the girl next to him. She was trying to help him, just like she always had. For a moment, it was almost like old times.

"But you don't have to be." There were tears in her eyes now, and Regulus didn't know what to do. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She didn't pull away like he'd expected her to. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his robes.

"I'm trying to make it better," he whispered into her hair. "I can't fix everything, but I'm trying, I promise."

"How?" she mumbled into his chest.

He hesitated. He _couldn't _tell her. Not after what had happened to Snape.

"I can't tell you," he said quietly.

She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Why not?"

Regulus looked away and said nothing.

"How – how do I even know that you're telling the truth? How do I know you aren't going to use me like you did her?"

She'd struck a nerve. That was obvious. There was a vein throbbing in his temple. When he spoke, though, he was calm and collected.

"You don't. But you were the one who came up to me Meadowes. You were the one who started this conversation. And for what it's worth, I've never lied to you. Not once. When we…_fell out_, it was because we had a difference of opinions, but I did. Not. Lie." He punctuated the last three words with an emphatic finger digging into the table-top.

Dorcas didn't know why she did what she did next. Maybe she was still in love with him. Maybe she just needed the familiarity.

Half an hour later, they were in his dormitory, her legs wrapped around his waist. He sat down on his bed, Dorcas in his lap. As he was unbuttoning her shirt, she thought about the strangeness of the situation. _This is wrong_, she tried telling herself. It _should_ have been wrong. Not just for her, but for him as well. So soon after The Incident. That was it. That was what changed his mind. She mentally cursed herself for not having realized sooner. Then she felt his mouth on her neck and gasped, tangling her fingers in his hair.

"It's okay," he whispered against her skin. "It's okay." He kept up his stream of whispering, sometimes seeming to console himself more than her.

* * *

_[4 September 1972]_

Alice Larkin turned a corner and found herself almost run over by a sea of first years.

"Alice! Over here!"

She looked up, surprised, to see Regulus Black waving his arms frantically. Smiling slightly, she made her way over to the excitable young boy. They'd spent most of last night talking by the fireside, and she was _sure_ the dark circles under her eyes made her look absolutely awful, but Regulus seemed as awake and fresh as anybody she'd ever seen. Maybe he'd slept in class. (He hadn't. But Alice had no way of knowing that.) When she finally reached him, he grabbed her hand and said, "Come on! There's someone I want you to meet!" Who on _earth_ could he want her to meet?

They ran for a good while, and Alice was considering suggesting they stop and rest for a little bit, when they _did_ stop, rather abruptly, in front of two boys in black and red robes. Alice remembered a snippet of last night's conversation.

_" I have a brother. Sirius Black. The only decent one in my family. He's in your year. Do you know him?"_

_She shook her head. "Nope. Not personally."_

Alice mentally slapped herself. Why had she lied? _Because you didn't want to remember how you were shunned just because of which bloody house you ended up in and how you almost cried at breakfast the other day when the boy sitting next to you was accepted by those prats like an old friend._

Regulus Black was looking between his brother and his newfound friend with a slight frown. "Are you _sure_ you don't know each other? "

Alice looked at him guiltily. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I lied to you yesterday."

"But…why?" Regulus was beyond incredulous.

"Because," she said, standing up a little bit straighter, and looking Sirius in the eye, "_Apparently_ I'm not good enough to be friends with your brother. Because I was sorted into _Slytherin._" She spat the last word out like it was something disgusting.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Regulus replied instantly.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Ask him." She jerked her chin in Sirius' direction.

Sirius' face was tinged with pink. James knew that the situation was prone to explode any second, so he stepped between the two of them and said, "I'm sorry. From the both of us. It's just that we'd heard so much about Slytherin, and all the Blacks till Sirius have been in Slytherin, and, well, you know how _they _turned out (Alice did know. Regulus had been quite forthcoming.) and it was awfully wrong of us to have treated you the way we did, but you can't really blame us. Well," he shifted uncomfortably, "you _can_ and you probably will, but we're sorry. You're nothing like the typical Slytherin. A year of watching you has told us that, if nothing else. So, I suppose it would be nice if we could start over." He took a deep breath and stepped back. He didn't know what else to say.

Regulus was looking on with wide eyes, utterly baffled.

Alice felt as confused as he looked.

She'd been upset about it for a whole sodding year, and now her problems were being…_magically _(she gave herself a metal pat on the back for that) resolved. She nodded slowly and stuck her hand out. Sirius grasped it and shook it, but still said nothing. James grinned and pressed his lips to her hand when she offered it to him.

"Ew!" She made a big show of wiping her hand on her robes, but they were all laughing now, even Sirius, who, Alice noticed, looked quite charming when he did.

None of them noticed the sallow boy with black hair who was giving them all dirty looks. A red-headed girl next to him tugged on his arm. "Come on Sev. We both have a free period. Let's go get some fresh air." The boy looked down at the girl with the red hair and couldn't help smiling. Nobody in their right mind would be upset when they had Lily Evans as their best friend.


	5. You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory

Everybody who reviewed,thank you so much. Don't stop. :P

**Z.R FlumeCloud,** whooa. I most definitely intend to read your story sometime soon. And I'm glad about the birthday thing. xD

**duj,** thanks. I honestly hadn't noticed that. I ensure you that I will amend it later in the story.

* * *

**Chapter 4: You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory**

* * *

_[4 September 1972]_

Chocolate. It was his one weakness. Well, apart from the whole werewolf thing, of course. At least he could control his cravings for chocolate. He sighed and nibbled at the edge of the white square. He preferred dark chocolate, but this was the only bar he had left. With his unoccupied hand, he flipped open a book and began to read. He'd barely made it past a page when he heard footsteps and laughter. _Those boys again_. Groaning inwardly, he pulled the hangings around his bed and charmed them shut. A second later, the door to the dormitory burst open and the laughter was much louder. Annoyed – he just wanted to read his book and eat his chocolate in peace, was that _really_ too much to ask for after everything he'd been through? – he put up a Silencing Charm around his bed.

* * *

James laughed as he pushed open the door to their dormitory, glad that things were looking up. Sirius and he immediately began rummaging in their trunks for their broomsticks. They'd just seen the notice in the Common Room that said tryouts for the Quidditch team were to be held in a week.

"Lupin's curtains are shut again," Sirius drawled. "Why do you reckon he's so anti-social?"

James shrugged. "You know he can probably hear you right?"

"Nah. Silencing Charm."

"How could you possibly know?"

Sirius turned to his best friend, incredulous. "Because that's what he does. He _always_ puts a Silencing Charm on his hangings. Don't tell me you've been in this dormitory for a freaking year and haven't noticed."

James shrugged again.

Sirius gave him a knowing smile. "Of course, you had…_distractions_."

James looked at him, with an air of feigned indifference. "I don't know what you could _possibly_ be referring to."

Sirius was opening his mouth, still grinning like a maniac, when the door crashed open and Peter Pettigrew stumbled in, white-faced and stammering.

"I –I didn't d-do an-anything. They just – "

He gasped for breath.

Sirius snapped his mouth shut, his blue-grey eyes as wide as saucers. James rushed over to the boy's side and put an arm around his shoulder, half dragging him to his bed.

When Peter Pettigrew had calmed himself and downed a bottle full of water, he said one word: _Slytherins_.

James stood up and shared a grim look with Sirius.

* * *

_[29 October 1978]_

Regulus Black opened his eyes, finding an arm thrown carelessly across his torso and a blonde head in the crook of his neck. _Fuck_. He tried to extricate himself from her hold as carefully as possible, but he froze when she began to stir. _What had he done?_ He mentally frowned at himself for asking such a silly question. It was clear _what_ he had done. The _why_ of it eluded him like smoke. _Stupid stupid stupid._ It was…_nice_ though. Knowing that somebody he cared about didn't utterly despise him. He'd never cared about his family, other than Sirius, and Sirius wouldn't even deign to _look_ at him now. Snape was probably the closest thing he had to a friend right now, but circumstances had thrown them together. He couldn't honestly say (even to himself, in the privacy of his mind) that he cared for the other. Unbidden, another name floated through his head. Alice. He didn't want to think about her. She was gone, and there was nothing that could be done about it. He brutally pushed the thought of her out of his mind, knowing that nothing good lay at the end of that path. He would have to face those thoughts someday, but today was not that day. He couldn't afford to break down today. Regulus turned his attention to the girl who was half sprawled across him. Absently, he stroked her hair, fingers threading through the blonde tangles with the utmost care.

A few minutes later he sighed and decided that it really was time for him to get out of bed. It was a Sunday, but he had work to do. Reaching for his wand that he always placed on his bedside table, his fingers grasped nothing but air.

"Looking for something?"

He knew that voice. It had laughed with him, once. Now, though, it was cold and hard. He closed his eyes and said nothing, knowing that talking was a waste of time and energy. He didn't know _how_ they'd got into the Slytherin dorms, but it mattered naught. They would use him as a punching bag, taking out their anger on him, and leave. He would bear it, because he deserved it. He'd been…bad. He tried not to smile at his memory of Dorcas using the word last night. Then the first curse hit him. He bit his lip, drawing blood, but didn't cry out. He lasted all of four minutes, after which he could contain it no longer. A moan escaped his lips and for a few seconds, there was blessed nothingness. Then the stunner hit him and everything went black.

* * *

Sirius looked at the crumpled form of his younger brother and felt a pang of guilt that was soon washed away in a sea of blinding fury. He picked Regulus up and slammed him against a wall, his features contorted with rage. He had _liked_ her. She was sweet. Innocent.

"_Rennervate."_

His brother came to, and he found himself looking into eyes identical to his own. "You bastard," he hissed. "I thought you _loved_ her."

It took Regulus a moment to gather his thoughts. "I did," he replied dully. _I just loved you more_. He didn't say it aloud though. He couldn't.

"Then _why_ _did you do it_?"

"Do what?"

He earned a snort and a sharp slap to the face.

"I'm not going to try and make you understand because you are incapable of wrapping your tiny little brain around –"

"Shut up," James advised him from a corner of the room.

He shut up. There was no point in continuing anyway. His eyes slid over to his bed, where Dorcas was sitting up, fully dressed, eyes wide and…_apologetic_? Of course. He was being unbelievably slow this morning. "You gave them the password."

His words were accusatory, but he didn't sound angry, or even put off. That was what scared Dorcas most. "I – I," she cleared her throat and tried again. "I did. But not for _this_!" She waved her arms angrily around the room and glared at James and Sirius. "That was only in case of emergencies!"

"He killed her Dorcas. He deserves this and much, much more."

Dorcas furrowed her brow. "Who? He killed who – oh." She shook her head vehemently. "No. No, he couldn't have."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. Wrapping his fingers around his brother's wrist, he raised Regulus' left arm and showed it to Dorcas, the Dark Mark black on the stark whiteness of his forearm.

"I knew he was a Death Eater," Dorcas bit out. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Was?" James asked.

Dorcas nodded. "He's different now, he's changing."

"Bullshit."

"Really!" Frustrated, Dorcas ran a hand through her hair. "You should have seen him…after," she continued, in a slightly calmer tone. "He was frantic!"

"Yes, because he fucking _killed_ her!"

"I'm right here, you know," Regulus said dryly from his place against the wall. He felt his brother press closer to him, while James and Dorcas continued to argue.

"_Muffliato._"

"What happened?" Sirius asked his brother in a low growl. Regulus could feel his breath on his ear and suppressed a shiver. His brother could be very scary – and dangerous – when he wanted to.

"I can't tell you," he replied quietly.

A wand dug into his neck, so violently that the tip drew blood. _His own wand_ Regulus thought detachedly. "I can't tell you," he repeated. "Threatening me isn't going to make a difference."

Sirius looked at the man in front of him with undisguised contempt.

Regulus fleetingly thought that his brother would have made a horrible Slytherin.

"I hate you."

"I don't blame you."

Sirius looked slightly taken aback at that.

"I can't believe you decided to come back to school on a Sunday," Regulus couldn't help throwing out mockingly.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the other but said nothing. Then, abruptly, he moved away, dispelling the muffling charm.

"Let's go James. We're done here."

James turned to look at his best friend, anger etched upon every line of his face, but he nodded and swept out of the room without another word. Sirius followed him immediately, and Dorcas, after an apologetic look at Regulus, was hot on their heels.

Regulus slid down the wall and sat there, wondering when his life had turned into such a nightmare.

* * *

_[4 September 1972]_

Alice looked around the common room. Most of the Slytherins has gone to bed. Despite it being only the start of the school year, a few of the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students were still feverishly scratching away with books piled high on their tables. Alice most certainly wasn't looking forward to those exams. She sat down near the fireplace, the floor warm under her hands as she placed her palms, face-down, on the stones. They were charmed to be warm, the heat had nothing to do with the fire. Alice loved magic.

She thought back to earlier in the day, when Regulus had dragged her by the arm to meet his brother. He was the only one who'd accepted her for who she was. He was, quite possibly, her first real friend. She smiled and closed her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she was truly happy.

* * *

_[13 October 1966]_

The six year old girl looked around her. Her teddy bear was clutched tightly in her arm, and her eyes were shining with wonder. She'd seen playgrounds, but only from afar. Never had she had the luxury of actually being able to _play_ in one.

"Hello. You're new here, aren't you?"

Alice turned around and came face to face with a boy of about seven, black hair neatly combed back.

"I'm just here for the day," she replied softly. "It's my birthday today, you see, and my mother brought me here as a treat. It's my first time in a real playground," she admitted, looking down at her shoes in embarrassment.

The boy's eyes widened. "That's terrible," he whispered, looking utterly despaired. Then his face brightened. "Come on, I'll show you all the around this playground. I've been coming here ever since I was four." He took her hand in his, and led her over to the swing-set. When they got to it, the boy plonked himself down on one swing and motioned for Alice to take the other. Shyly, she walked up to it and sat down.

The boy began to swing his legs back and forth, going higher and higher.

Alice didn't move her legs. She just willed the swing to move.

The boy stopped swinging and looked at her, mouth hanging open.

"How are you doing that?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

Alice furrowed her brow. "Doing what?"

"That!" The boy pointed at her, voice taking on an edge of panic.

Alice sighed, exasperated. "I'm making the swing move. Why is that so big a deal?"

The boy looked at her as if she were crazy, eyes still as wide as saucers. "You're a freak," he whispered, so softly that Alice almost didn't catch it.

"What?" she asked in a hurt voice.

"You're a freak," he repeated loudly, more confident this time.

Then he proceeded to walk away, a look of utter disgust etched upon his young face.

Alice hated playgrounds.

* * *

_[4 September 1972]_

Severus Snape groaned as he leaned against the wall that was the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. His whole body was battered and bruised. Potter and his friends were going to pay. They hadn't even bothered to use _magic_ on him. For the first time, he realized how much damage fists and feet could do. He'd been outnumbered three to one, _and what the bloody hell was Pettigrew doing with them_?

Severus straightened up. He had to compose himself. It might have been alright to walk into Gryffindor tower staggering and bloody, but for a Slytherin that just wouldn't do. If he walked into the Slytherin common room in his current state, he would be descended upon by a pack of vultures. Not literally, of course, but every eye would be on him, gauging the extent of his injuries. They would stand up for him against the Gryffindors, but he would be perceived as weak, and would be exploited to no end.

Just as he raised his wand to clean himself up, a girl with blonde hair and a prefect's badge turned the corner. _Perfect_.

* * *

Narcissa Black was utterly fed up with life. She was betrothed to Lucius Malfoy because apparently, the Blacks owed the Malfoys a bride. He had been a year ahead of her at Hogwarts, and perfectly courteous, but _not_ suitable husband material. _At least they aren't making you marry into the family_, she thought to herself.

Then, of course, there was that whole business with the new Dark Lord. People were afraid of saying his name these days. Really, what was the point in thinking up a name like that just to have nobody use it? He was powerful though, and –

Oh dear. He looked like a second year, and _Merlin's beard_ what had happened to him? His face was a mess, as was the rest of him. When she reached him, she put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile. If there was one thing Narcissa was good at, it was taking care of people.

"Come with me," she said softly. He stiffened for a moment, but then nodded reluctantly. She cast a Disillusionment Charm on him and swept into the common room, knowing he would follow.

A few students acknowledged her presence with a nod or a smile, but most of them gave her a cursory glance and looked away. She grimaced (to herself, of course) and straightened her back, making her way to the second year boys' dormitory. A few people looked slightly surprised at that, but said nothing. Despite everything, she was a prefect.

Once inside the dormitory, she flicked her wrist and clinically appraised the boy standing in front of her. Ten minutes later he was seated on his bed, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Narcissa sat down next to him, handing him a cup of conjured hot chocolate.

"How do you feel?"

"Better." He took a sip from the cup he was holding. "Thank you."

Narcissa looked mildly amused at the way the words were forced out.

"What do I owe you?"

She raised her eyebrows, and thought about what would be most beneficial to her in the long term.

"Friendship."

* * *

Severus Snape just managed to keep from spitting out the hot chocolate. What was it with people wanting to be his _friend_ lately? He hardly had a choice in this matter though.

"Friendship or loyalty?" he asked through gritted teeth.

The girl next to him furrowed her brow. She was a Black, he remembered. A powerful and influential family, despite turning out a few rotten eggs like the boy in his batch.

"Friendship," she replied, with a slight smirk, as if she knew exactly how much this situation was bothering him. She probably did.

"Very well," he said, dipping his head slightly in acquiescence.

She smiled at him, seemingly quite genuine, and rose to leave the room without another word.

Severus Snape was terrified beyond his wits.

* * *

Regulus Black caught sight of Alice seated in front of the fireplace, eyes closed and hands flat on the stones in front of her. He couldn't help but feel a bit fond of her. She wasn't the typical Slytherin. He'd grown up around typical Slytherins, namely, his family, and she most certainly did not fit into that category. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hello Regulus." Her voice was light, and happy.

He grinned at her and seated himself opposite her. They just looked at each other for a moment, basking in mutual acceptance.

"Fancy a chocolate frog?" Regulus pulled a couple out of his robes. He saw Alice's eyes light up as she voiced her acceptance and thanks, reaching out for one of them. He handed it over and studied her as she opened the packet meticulously, and proceeded to eat the frog with the utmost care, seeming to savour the taste, if her expression of ultimate bliss was anything to go by. Something was wrong with that picture. He frowned.

"Alice?"

"Mhm?"

"How many chocolate frogs have you had?"

"Ever?"

Regulus nodded.

She thought for a moment. "Three," she answered.

His jaw dropped. "Just…three?" he whispered. "In your whole life?"

Alice sighed and nodded.

Regulus' face hardened. "Last night, you went on and on about how wonderful a person your mother is –"

"Was," she cut in sharply.

"Pardon?"

"Was. She's no longer alive."

"Well," Regulus replied coldly. "You seemed to have lied about a great many things Miss Larkin."

Alice hung her head, looking abashed. "I'm sorry," she replied in a whisper. "It's just that –" she swallowed. She was looking distinctly uncomfortable now.

"What is it?" Regulus asked, more gently this time.

Her eyes blazed. "I'm sick of being _pityed_ all the time." She shook her head. "My mother's dead because my father killed her. He came back and –" Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "There was blood everywhere."

"Oh god. I'm so sorry."

"They were both muggles."

"What? You mean you're a mud – " he coughed. "You're a muggleborn?"

She looked at him sharply. "Yes. Does this mean you aren't going to associate with me anymore?"

"Of course not," Regulus replied. He moved closer to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. "My parents may think that way, but I most certainly don't."

Alice shot him a grateful look.

Regulus furrowed his brow. "Where do you live now though?"

"In an orphanage." At Regulus' expectant look she continued. "Wool's Orphanage."

Regulus put his other arm around her and squeezed her tight.

Alice shook her head. "She dies four years ago though. I'm getting over it." She turned to look at him. "The interesting thing is," she continued, "I don't think I was the first magical person to ever reside there, even though it is a muggle orphanage. The room that they allotted to me once belonged to a boy named Tom Riddle."


	6. Eleanor Rigby

**Neevs: **Thanks man. I get lovely lovely pictures whoo! xD

**kittyhawk09:** You will learn. :P

[I'm so sorry. Don't kill me for the superslow update. I'll try and be faster next time. Promise. And Chicken. Thank you so much.]

* * *

**Chapter 5: Eleanor Rigby**

* * *

_[4 September 1972]_

"Riddle," Regulus mused. "It doesn't sound like a pureblood name."

"It isn't. He was muggleborn, I think." She leaned in closer and dropped her voice to a whisper. "But he was so powerful. I can still _feel_ the residue of his magic." She shivered.

"Wow."

"Yeah. You could come over sometime and I could show you!" Alice's eyes lit up with unadulterated joy.

Regulus shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, well. I don't know if I'll be allowed to come meet you. My parents keep a tight leash on me, you know."

Alice scooted out of his arms. "It's okay," she said quietly. "I understand."

Regulus fidgeted for a moment, not meeting her eyes. Then he cleared his throat. "Okay, um, I guess I'd better be heading to bed now. We have classes and everything in the morning." He pushed himself up and gave Alice a bright smile. "Goodnight!"

As he turned to leave, he heard Alice's voice, laced with hurt, "I thought you didn't think like your parents."

Regulus whirled around, but she was gone. Frustrated and angry, he stalked off to his own dormitory.

* * *

_[5 September 1972]_

He yawned and opened his eyes unwillingly. Sleep was blissful. Sleep after having been healed was, by far, the most blissful thing he had experienced in his short life. The sun was shining, and he could even hear birds chirping outside the charmed windows. He'd never felt so peaceful before. A quick glance at his bedside clock told him that it was…_shit._ _Nine twenty-three._ He was late for class.

* * *

Alice was seated at the Slytherin end of the class. Only after taking her seat had she remembered that she was tentative friends with the Gryffindors now. No matter. They probably wouldn't mind. She looked over to the other side of the classroom and saw that James and Sirius were giving her identical mischievous grins. She gave them a small smile and wave, and turned to the book in front of her. She never was any good at Transfiguration.

Alice was waving her wand, muttering _bruchus puga_ under her breath, but her beetle simply refused to turn into a button. Suddenly, the door banged open. Alice looked up, startled. Her eyes found the form of Severus Snape, who strode forward purposefully, and handed Professor McGonagall a note. McGonagall gave it a cursory glance and waved him to his seat. Alice saw him glance at Evans and hesitate, but he squared his shoulders and made his way over to where she was seated. Surprised, she moved her things out of the way and gave him a cool look. He sat down next to her and took out his books. His wand was already in his hand. Without so much as a glance at her, he mastered the incantation in under a minute and earned ten points for Slytherin.

Alice couldn't believe it. She had been trying for half an hour before Snape arrived and her beetle still looked like a beetle. It even had legs. When she finally decided to Give Up, she slumped in her seat and made to drop her wand hand onto the table. Before it could reach the table, however, cool fingers were wrapped around her wrist. She heard the muttered incantation, and her hand was moved in a slight circular motion. The beetle on her table was now a button. Wide-eyed, she looked at the boy beside her. With a flick of his wrist, the beetle was scampering on her desk again.

He nodded towards the insect. "Try moving your hand like that. Do it again."

Shakily, Alice took a breath, muttered _bruchus puga_, moving her hand how he had shown her, and the beetle was a button.

"Very good, Miss Larkin," Professor McGonagall's voice said, just above her head. She was so startled that she almost jumped out of her seat. "Th-thank you Professor, but really, I managed it only because –"

But McGonagall had already walked away.

"Consider it my apology," a voice said dryly from beside her.

Alice narrowed her eyes at Snape. After a moment, she gave a sharp nod. "Very well. Apology accepted."

Alice glanced back at the Gryffindor side of the room and found Lily Evans glaring at her. James was desperately trying to get Evans' attention. She couldn't help but grin at that. Then she shifted her gaze and her eyes met those of Sirius Black, who raised an eyebrow at her before turning away. _Was he really upset with her for talking to Snape?_ Grateful for the bell that rang a second later, Alice hurried out of the classroom, not bothering to wait for anyone.

* * *

_[31 October 1978]_

Regulus Black headed to the Great Hall by himself. He sat down by himself at the end of the Slytherin table by himself. He poured some coffee in a cup, buttered two slices of toast and proceeded to eat them. By himself. He talked to no one – for he had no one to talk to – and no one made an attempt to talk to him. He was absolutely furious with Dorcas. He had known, of course, that she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix; that she fought against everything he stood for – rather, _had _stood for. He knew that Sirius treating him like filth, and what the Dark Lord had done to him was not her fault at all, but it seemed easiest to take it out on her.

There were those in Slytherin who were like Dorcas (though they were only a handful) – fighting for the Light – who considered him evil and thus didn't even deign to look in his direction. Then, there were those who worked for the Dark Lord, even if they weren't Death Eaters. All of the Dark Lord's servants knew that Regulus has been punished recently, even if they were ignorant as to his crime or the mode of punishment. Add to that the fact that he had slept with Dorcas Medowes (God knows how _that_ got out, the curtains to his four-poster had been spelled shut and he'd added a Silencing Charm as well. Sirius and Potter must have been there much before he awoke), and no dark witch or wizard wanted to be within fifty feet of Regulus Black.

Regulus finished his measly breakfast of butter and toast and headed back to the Slytherin dorms.

Alone.

* * *

Severus Snape lowered himself into the creaky armchair and thought back to the time he had first met Voldemort. It was exactly a year ago. He had walked into the Hog's Head, expecting to see Lucius Malfoy ready with his orders. Those orders were never anything serious, though. Severus wondered why it was even necessary to go to these meetings anymore. He'd be done with school soon enough, and then he could actually do something. On the 31st of October, 1977, everything changed.

Sitting down at their usual table in the corner, Severus looked up and saw a pale, pale face. This one, however, had thin lips and nostrils that were slits along with _scarlet eyes?_ This was most certainly not the face of Lucius Malfoy.

Severus allowed a slight flicker of surprise to cross his face, but no more. He could have contained himself completely, but that may have been seen as defiance. He was just starting out – he didn't even have the Dark Mark yet – and being seen as somewhat of a threat would be as fatal to him as being seen as weak.

"My Lord," he bowed his head respectfully.

"Ah. Severus Snape."

Severus hated the fact that his name had so many S's. It allowed the Dark Lord to hiss his name out like a snake.

"Lucius speaks highly of you."

Severus inclined his head in gratitude and let a tiny smile play on his lips.

"I take it you agree with my cause?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't, My Lord," Snape replied smoothly.

"And yet – you are a half blood, are you not?"

Snape froze. "That is true, My Lord, but I cannot condone mudblood filth," he replied carefully.

Voldemort tsked. "Come now, Severus. We must be polite. I believe the politically correct term is 'muggleborn'." He let out a raspy chuckle at the look on Severus' face, but his demeanor turned cold in an instant. "You consider yourself superior to them."

It wasn't really a question, but Severus answered anyway. "Yes, My Lord. Undoubtedly."

"And yet, it has come to my attention that you were once very close friends with a muggleborn witch. Is this not so?"

Severus knew that it would be imprudent to lie outright. He inclined his head. "That is true, My Lord. However, I was young and foolish. I do hope that you can forgive my oversight on this matter and let it fade in memory."

Voldemort looked into his eyes, searching for the lie he suspected. Severus Snape was, however, a highly accomplished Occlumens, and held his ground. _He didn't love Lily. He didn't love Lily. He didn't love Lily._ After about a minute, the Dark Lord looked away, seemingly satisfied.

"Very well. I have a job for you." He crooked one pale finger, and Severus leaned forward.

There were a few whispered words, and Severus felt his heart stop beating for a second. He nodded, though, and made the proper courtesies, before the Dark Lord left him.

Bloody hell. He wondered if the bartender would serve him some Firewhiskey.

* * *

_[01 August 1977]_

Regulus Black was bored. He had finished all his homework _ages_ ago, and, quite frankly, he had nothing to do. His brother had run off the year before and left him all alone. James Potter didn't deserve Sirius. Sirius was_ his_ brother. It wasn't fair. But then, life wasn't fair.

He shook back his left sleeve and fingered the Mark. It might have been a cool tattoo, if it wasn't the Dark Lord's mark. Not that he minded much; he knew that ever since he was born he had been groomed to be the perfect Death Eater. He didn't completely agree with the Dark Lord's ideals, but he couldn't bring himself to run away like Sirius had. It was pretty clear who the winner of this war was going to be, and Regulus Black valued his life quite a bit.

He wandered into the Black library. Oh well. He might as well pick up a book from here. There was bound to be _something_ interesting. Skimming through the titles, he found one that he liked. _Magick Moste Evile. _He pulled it out and blew some dust of the cover. When was the last time anyone had opened this book? He curled up in an armchair near the hearth and began to read.

* * *

_[13 October 1968]_

"Mother, I'm home!" Alice called as she waltzed through the door. Her mother had sent her to the market for some butter because they were running short. Twice a year, Alice and her mother would bake a cake together: on each of their birthdays.

"Mother?" she called again when she didn't receive a response.

She placed the butter on the kitchen counter and made her way to their shared bedroom.

Her mother was sitting upright on the bed, her expression one of pure agony. Her hair was brushed and set in place. It framed her pale face perfectly. Alice looked down at the covers to see that they were soaked in blood. Her mother's hands were hanging from the bedpost.

* * *

_[15 October 1968]_

Alice lay back on the bed, staring at the paint that was peeling off the ceiling. She didn't remember much of what had happened after she had seen her mother's hands and crumpled to the floor. They said it was her father who had done it. Her father, who had run off with most of their savings all those years ago. He had _cut off her hands_. When the police caught him, he had screamed something about her mother being a monster who could do strange things.

At first, Alice had been afraid that he would come after her as well. The owner of the orphanage (a Ms. Cole) had sat down in a comfortable armchair with Alice on her lap and explained to her as gently as possible that there was no way he could escape from where they were holding him. Now that Alice thought about it, if her father had wanted her dead, he would have waited for her to come back home.

Despite the adults' attempts at explanation, the little girl didn't really understand why her father would do such a terrible thing. She suspected that the adults hadn't a clue either. _He's gone now_, she told herself. Unbidden, another whispered voice in her head said, _so is she_. Chocking back a sob, Alice buried her face in the pillow and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

_[16 October 1968]_

Sunlight streamed through the open window, illuminating the little girl's face. Patricia Cole sighed as she bustled about the room, dusting the few surfaces that were present. _Another child without her parents_. She paused when she saw scratches on the wall, _where had they come from? And why hadn't anybody painted over them?_ She would have to take care of that. Straightening up, she looked around. The wardrobe would have to be fixed too; one of the doors was hanging off its hinges. This room was in _utter _disrepair. Of course, it hadn't been used in over forty years now.

Ms. Cole still remembered the stories that her mother used to tell her; about the strange boy – whose name she couldn't recall – who all the children, and even some adults were afraid of. She shook her head and went to gently shake the little girl awake.

Downstairs, someone had put on a record, and the words floated upstairs…_ahh, look at all the lonely people._


	7. Trains

**Chapter 6: Trains**

* * *

_[1 August 1977] _

_"…of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction…"_ Interesting. What could be bad enough to get itself banned from _this_ book? Regulus got up from his comfortable chair and dusted himself off, wandering back to the shelves in search of a book that would give him a better description of these Horcruxes. Running his fingers along the spine of the books, he stopped at a dark blue one. The cover was unmarked by lettering of any sort, and even though it appeared to be immensely old, it wasn't crumbling to dust. It was clearly protected by magic in some way. Why _all_ the books weren't protected by magic was something that Regulus never did find out.

Opening the book – which appeared to be some sort of a diary – carefully, he drifted back to the chair that he had been sitting in earlier. _Property of Elladora Black, 14 February, 1870. _Salazar, that was a long time ago. This was probably who Aunt Elladora was named after. Regulus thought on that for a minute. _Elladora_ wasn't the name of a star, as far as he knew, and _why hadn't he noticed that before?_ No matter. He would ask his father the next time he saw him long enough to hold a conversation.

He turned the page – which was slightly yellowed with age, but not much – and began to read.

_14 February 1870_

_They are trying to marry me off to the Malfoy heir. Apparently, we owe the Malfoy's a bride. I cannot even begin to fathom how such a strange debt came about. Most likely, it was put together by one of my liquor-loving ancestors who could not bear to keep his family out of his strange and obnoxious dealings. I do not know how I will live this down._

_The Malfoy's are rich, yes, but they are _Malfoys_! Such snobby brats as those, I have never before encountered in my twenty years of life._

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Regulus said.

"What _are_ you doing in the library?" Walburga Black screeched. "Haven't you got someplace better to be?"

Regulus blinked. He thought his mother should have been quite happy to see him sitting in the library, reading a book and making trouble for no one. Apparently not.

"Hasn't –" His mother swallowed. "Hasn't…_he_ got any work for you to do?"

Oh.

Regulus closed the book with a snap and shrugged. "No Mother. There are Death Eaters out there far more experienced than me. It'll take a couple of years before I get any _real_ jobs."

Walburga Black studied her son for a moment, before turning her eyes to the dark blue journal in his hands. "What is it that you're reading?" she shrieked suddenly. "Give it to me!" She moved forward with extraordinary speed, and Regulus – who wasn't expecting it – relinquished his hold on the book at once.

Shaking with fury, Walburga spit out," Don't you _ever_ let me catch you reading this again!"

Accustomed to the screaming, Regulus was unfazed. "Why?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

She turned around, her face going from puce to deathly white instantly. "There are things," she began in a shaky voice. "Things that even you, young man, are far too innocent to understand. Or at least," she swallowed, "Things that you should not be exposed to. Dangerous things. Indecent things. _Please_ don't let me see you reading this journal Regulus."

She was _begging_ him not to read it. Interesting. Nodding once, he slipped out of the library past his mother. She said she didn't want to _see_ him reading it. A grin broke out on his face as he thought of ways to get that journal back.

* * *

_[1 September 1977]_

It had been a month since his mother had taken the journal away from him, and he still hadn't managed to get it back. And now he had to go to school. He loved Hogwarts dearly – of course he did – but he _needed to know what – if anything – in that book was so dangerous_. His mother did have a habit of exaggerating things, but he had never seen her look more frightened than she did that day. That had only strengthened his resolve to find the book.

Sighing and glancing at his watch, he waited for his father to come out the back door of No. 12 Grimmauld Place. It was already 10:45. They really were cutting it fine. Regulus frowned to himself. His parents – his father, at least – was always insistent about him and Sirius being punctual, and for the past five years, the Black brothers had been at Platform 9¾ by ten o' clock at the very latest.

His stomach gave a lurch at the thought of Sirius. More specifically, at the thought of Sirius _not being there_. He would be at Hogwarts, of course, this was his last year, but Regulus knew that his brother wouldn't even bother to look at him. Was _that_ why his father was taking so long? No. That made absolutely no sense. Something must have come up. His stomach gave another lurch at that thought because _something_ could only be related to the Dark Lord. He was about to turn around and march up the stairs when he heard his father's footsteps. He looked at his watch. 10:48.

"Come," Orion said regally, grabbing his son by the upper arm and turning on the spot.

When they appeared at Kings' Cross station, Regulus turned to his father. "Has something happened?"

His father raised an eyebrow at him. "You really must be more specific. However," he continued, ignoring Regulus' abashed look, "I do believe I know what it is you refer to. So yes, as you so _eloquently_ put it, something has happened."

Regulus waited, expecting his father to elaborate, but he didn't. "Well?" he asked finally.

"Well what?" was the impatient reply.

Regulus took a deep breath to calm himself. If he got angry, his father would _definitely_ tell him nothing. "What is it that has happened?" he asked in a relatively calm tone.

His father looked down at him and sighed. Then he raised his wand and erected a privacy ward around the two of them. "The Dark Lord had just been voicing his displeasure about your…brother."

"He was _in our house_?" Regulus asked, alarmed at the mere thought.

"Of course not, foolish boy. _I _had gone to meet _him_."

"Oh. Is Sirius safe?"

His father pursed his lips at the mention of Sirius' name and Regulus mentally slapped himself.

"He is safe," his father replied, after a moment. "You, on the other hand…" Taking a deep breath, Orion Black continued, "Your mother and I were wondering whether or not it was wise to send you back to Hogwarts this year."

Regulus widened his eyes before he could stop himself. "I'll be fine – I can take care of myself," he said quickly. His father narrowed his eyes at him. "I certainly hope so," was all he said.

The whistle blew then, and Regulus dragged his trunk towards the train, stopping to wave at his father only once he had boarded. His father gave him an imperious nod and a sharp look and Apparated away.

Regulus began the monumental task of hauling his trunk behind him and trying to find an empty compartment. Blessedly, it didn't take too long. When he entered, he realized why it was empty. There was an awful stench coming from the corner of the tiny space. Snorting, he pulled his wand out and vanished the stink pellets that were lying there.

He had just levitated his trunk to the overhead rack and seated himself in one of the seats near the window when the compartment door slid open.

"May I sit here?" asked the cold voice of Severus Snape.

Regulus nodded without looking away from the window. He heard the sounds of Snape placing his trunk on the rack and the rustle of his robes when he made his way over to the other window seat. Regulus saw him sit down out of the corner of his eye, but neither boy said anything till the Hogwarts Express was winding her way through the countryside.

In one swift moment, Snape drew his wand. Regulus tensed, but relaxed slightly when he realized that Snape was merely putting privacy wards around them. Only slightly. What was with today and delicate conversations? He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Snape clearing his throat hesitantly.

Uh-oh. Snape was _never_ hesitant.

"May I, um, see it?"

Regulus looked at the boy opposite him blankly till Snape gestured at his left arm impatiently. Oh. Oh dear.

"Why?" he asked harshly.

Snape shrugged and muttered, "Just curious."

Regulus continued to gaze at him suspiciously.

Snape sighed. "If I'm going to have the damn thing burned onto my skin forever, I might as well come to terms with how it looks."

Regulus let out an amused snort, but his expression darkened again almost immediately. "How did you know that I got one?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

Snape rolled his eyes and replied, "Because of the way you're holding your arm."

Regulus looked down at himself, surprised. It had been a month and a half since the Mark had been burned into his arm, surely his subconscious would have been used to it by now? Apparently not.

Sighing, he glanced warily at the door before pulling the sleeve of his robe back carefully. Snape leaned forward in his seat slightly, even going so far as to reach his hand out. Regulus thought, for a moment, that Snape meant to touch his mark – which would be entirely unacceptable – but the other boy let his hand drop.

"What –" Snape cleared his throat. "What did he make you do?"

Huh? "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

Snape looked at him as if he were an idiot. "He doesn't give the Mark to _anyone_," the sallow faced boy said, and continued to look at him expectantly.

Regulus heaved a sigh and prepared himself for the torrent of jealousy and rage that he was sure to receive. "I haven't had to do anything…yet. He gave it to me more, I suppose, as an honorary thing." Even though Snape's face remained impassive, Regulus could practically _feel_ the other boy's rage.

"And what," Snape asked in a clipped tone, "entitles you to such…_honour_?"

Regulus shifted uncomfortably. "Um, I think it was more for my father, since he's been so loyal."

Snape opened his mouth to retort, but he snapped it shut at once when a soft knocking was heard on the compartment door.

Regulus shook his sleeve over his forearm, Snape waved his wand and removed the privacy wards (they were a useful little thing he had invented – allowing the caster to hear everything that was going on around him, but not the other way around) and they waited. Sure enough, the compartment door slid open and Dorcas Meadowes stuck her head around the door. "Severus! Regulus! The prefects' meeting has already started!"

Regulus blinked in surprise. Salazar, with the Dark Lord and the Mark and Horcuxes and his great-great-great something Elladora's journal on his mind, he had completely forgotten about the fact that he was a prefect. Casting his mind back, he remembered seeing his badge on his bedside table, lying out in the open so that he wouldn't forget to pack it. But he had forgotten. He groaned inwardly. Glancing at the boy seated across from him, he saw Snape smirking slightly as he pinned his own green and silver badge to his chest. Dorcas, seeing Regulus' expression, took off her own badge, duplicated it with a spell, and handed the copy over to Regulus.

"Thank you," Regulus muttered, as he took the badge from her and pinned it to his robes. They were halfway to the prefects' compartment when he realized that eventually, he would have to tell Dorcas about the Mark. They spent so much time together that there was no way she _wouldn't _find out. He really wasn't looking forward to that conversation. _Oh no._ There was another person that he would have to tell. She might be more understanding, but Regulus was still going to do his very best to avoid Alice Larkin for as long as possible.

* * *

"Chocolate frog?" Sirius asked the girl sitting beside him. Alice grinned and accepted it. She bit into it, and remembered the first time she had ever tasted one. It had been offered to her by a boy who looked remarkably like the one sitting next to her now. She had looked for Regulus the moment she had boarded the train but, not finding him anywhere, had opted to sit with the Marauders instead. She found this rather odd, because Sirius and Regulus always arrived together, even if they couldn't stand each other, but it didn't seem all that important. Regulus would turn up somewhere. He always did.

At present, Remus was in the prefects' compartment with James, who had made Head Boy – Merlin knows how! – and Peter was curled up on the seat opposite her, fast asleep.

"So," Sirius said, fiddling with his tie. "There's something I should probably tell you."

Alice nodded, motioning for him to continue. Sirius took a deep breath. "I ran away from home this summer and now I'm living with the Potters."

Alice coughed, a piece of Chocolate Frog lodging in her throat, and Sirius thumped her on the back, looking slightly alarmed. She turned to Sirius, tears welling up in her eyes. They weren't because of what he had done, but because of the Chocolate Frog. Most of them were, anyway.

"How could you?" she said, and her voice came out in a whisper.

Sirius let out a mirthless chuckle. "Oh, believe me. It was the easiest thing in the world."

By now Alice had got her breath back. "But what about Regulus?" she asked, and instantly wondered whether that had been a good idea. Sirius had turned to her, his face growing hard.

"What about him?"

"Well, you can't just _leave_ him there!"

Sirius cracked a humourless smile. "Actually, darling, I _can_. That is precisely what I have done. And do keep your voice down. You'll wake Wormtail."

Alice shook her head in disbelief. "Look, Sirius, I know your brother can't stand up to your parents like you can, but he doesn't _want_ to be where he is! He only got by because he knew you were there!" She opened her mouth to continue, but Sirius interrupted her.

"Go look at his left forearm and then tell me that," he hissed.

Alice turned away. _No. It couldn't be true. If Regulus had become a Death Eater…he would essentially be her mortal enemy. _Shaking her head to clear it, she decided to postpone judgment till she actually spoke to Regulus himself. Clearing her throat and plastering a smile on her face, she turned back to Sirius.

"Where do your funny nicknames come from anyway?"

Sirius looked slightly taken aback at the sudden change in subject, but he regained his composure soon enough. "It's a bit complicated," he said.

"Look," Alice interrupted, "I know Remus is a werewolf, so I can guess where Moony came from, even though that isn't very nice." She frowned. "The rest of you though, I cannot place."

Sirius quickly closed his gaping mouth and licked his lips. "How on earth do you know about Moony?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Alice laughed. "It was painfully obvious," she replied. "I bet everyone with a brain has already figured it out."

"Wonder why nobody's said anything," Sirius muttered. "What?" he said, noticing Alice's surprised expression.

"Well, it's evident, isn't it? Everyone likes Remus. He's not a troublemaker, he gets good grades in class, he's friendly – even a bit funny sometimes – and he's _always_ there to help you if you need it. Everybody _loves _him. Why would they tell?" She laughed again. "Don't look so surprised!"

On instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up and placing her in his lap. "Siri-," she began, but he kissed her before she could continue. It wasn't her first kiss, but _wow_. Pulling away from him, she surveyed him critically. "That," she said, "was completely uncalled for."

Sirius grinned at her. "And yet, you're still here in my lap, aren't you?"

She shook her head and attempted to get up, but he held her down. "Sirius!" She glared at him.

The compartment door opened then, to admit James and Remus. James let out a whistle, and Alice made to get up once again. Sirius let her, this time.

She stalked over to the opposite side of the seat, seeing as Peter was still sprawled on the other one. Nobody except Alice saw the hurt that crossed Remus' features as he picked his way over to sit next to Sirius.

James was prodding Peter awake. He had, amazingly, slept through everything. James' prodding wasn't helping matters much either. Finally, once James had bellowed in his ear, Peter sat up and stretched, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What did I miss?" he asked in his sleepy-voice. The rest of them just chuckled.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew hadn't, in fact, been asleep for all that time. He had cracked an eye open just to hear Sirius telling Alice about his running away from home. He closed his eyes again hurriedly. He did _not_ want to get involved when Padfoot and Alice had that conversation. And now…_was he kissing her?_ Peter was terribly confused. He decided not to bother and to let them do as they pleased. Sighing, he tried to make himself fall asleep again, which he had apparently succeeded at, because James was now yelling in his ear.


End file.
